CTC Minutes, February 21, 2021
ALL PRESENT: Patrice Watson, Facilitator; Dave Watts, Gina Matkin, Jim Cox, Juanita Rice (Note-taker), Mark Watson, Mike McMahon.
We proceeded as usual with a short meditation period, a check-in, and the facilitator's reading of the "Meeting Prayer" which you can read separately under CTC reports.
Agenda Item One: "Inclusiveness Resources."
Gina and Juanita reported for the second month in a row that we had not yet progressed significantly, that we had resources, suggestions, lists, in a loose grab-bag, but had not yet found a time to meet and give better shape to our intentions. The general discussion that followed was somewhat visionary, as in helping the CTC envision the project, and resulted in enlarging the project committee to include Mike, Dave and Jim. The facilitator announced that we had better come up with something achieved by our next meeting or we would be excommunicated from Buddhism.
We invite the sangha to contemplate the seriousness of this dictatorial threat. Just kidding.
Once Gina and Juanita posed the problem as one that needed the input and the enthusiasm of the CTC in general, and eventually at-large sangha members, the discussion became intensely animated. Gina agreed to try to convene five-member committee to work on the project after our wide-ranging discussion that included some of the following ideas:
Develop a vision of the world we want to facilitate. Possibly the societal changes that we want to see that would eliminate arbitrary isolations of people from each other's lives, segregations of communities and individuals because of social prejudices of the past, between races, ethnicities, classes and differently gendered groups or individuals. And why we, as a Plum Village Buddhist group, should engage in realizing that transformation, i.e. the centrality of Bodhisattva aspirations: "Aware of the suffering" and dedication to "relief of suffering" of ourselves and all beings. That might take the form of a progression from "Our Aim" or Our Wish, the position now, and how to walk in the direction of the aspiration. And that the mission, or the direction, should be a LIVING document, brought regularly to the sangha for consideration, an evolving document, a responsive document.
Suggestions of ways to begin suggested, at least in part, being responsive to the "Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings" communicated to us by Valerie Brown and Marisela Gomez of the Plum Village ARISE Sangha.
*ARISE = Awakening through Race, Intersectionality and Social Equity.
The project committee will share ideas and enthusiasm and negotiate times and ways to communicate.
Their report is scheduled for the March 21 CTC meeting agenda.
Agenda Item Two: Membership in Care-Taking Council.
Our by-laws specify that the Council shall be composed of six to nine members, drawn from the Order of Interbeing, Aspirants to OI, and at-large sangha members. We previous invited applications from the sangha for up to two more people. The qualifications are regular attendance at sangha over the last year and having taken the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Two people applied, Tina Ray and Mike McGann. We opened the subject for discussion and voted to accept both applications as long as they still had the interest and ability.
Results will be announced at Sangha Monday night, February 22.
There are also two applications of possible but postponed qualification and interest from the past which will be kept on record in case the applicants resume active re-application. This gives us 3 OI, 3 Aspirants and 3 at-large members. We will consider rotation as availability changes. And fills our 9-cube Zoom window.
Agenda Item Three: Spring Retreat with Brother Michael Ciborski.
Mark Watson confirmed that Brother Michael would be the Dharma Teacher at the Spring Retreat to be held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 14, 15, and 16th which is the third weekend, and the weekend after Mother's Day. The retreat will be a distance event via Zoom.
Gina volunteered to help Randy Reinhart, Honey-Locust Treasurer, with registration for the retreat, and
Patrice and Juanita will work with Mark Watson to make plans. Brother Michael did not specify a theme so the committee will generate some suggestions.
There is also a limitation we could run up against: Brother Michael is widely well-known and could conceivably "draw a crowd," depending on the way we go about publicizing. "A crowd" could bring in solid income for Dana, but there are two caveats.
A. The Zoom account for the Sangha has an attendee limit of 100. Although an additional Zoom fee might enlarge that limit it is also true that using "Break-out Rooms"—that is, smaller groups that can share more intimately, for Dharma sharing, generation of ideas, etc.—requires dedicated time and attention by a 'HOST.' That host would be significantly limited in their ability to experience the retreat with everyone else.
B. We shared a perception that, especially in the absence of person-to-person meetings and retreats, the sangha (and we automatically include the Lincoln Sangha) needs and would benefit from keeping the number of people lower—perhaps 40-60. If we publicize widely, the first wave of registrants might exclude numbers of our sangha. The sense of the meeting was that we need to make sure everyone from "our" sangha/s gets to register, perhaps before opening registration more widely but with a limit.
We concluded that money for Dana was not a primary objecct. And a corollary of the two considerations is that we need to make every effort to get early registration from Honey Locust Sangha and Lincoln Sangha.
This meeting adjourned around 2:30.
Notes submitted by Juanita
ALL PRESENT: Patrice Watson, Facilitator; Dave Watts, Gina Matkin, Jim Cox, Juanita Rice (Note-taker), Mark Watson, Mike McMahon.
We proceeded as usual with a short meditation period, a check-in, and the facilitator's reading of the "Meeting Prayer" which you can read separately under CTC reports.
Agenda Item One: "Inclusiveness Resources."
Gina and Juanita reported for the second month in a row that we had not yet progressed significantly, that we had resources, suggestions, lists, in a loose grab-bag, but had not yet found a time to meet and give better shape to our intentions. The general discussion that followed was somewhat visionary, as in helping the CTC envision the project, and resulted in enlarging the project committee to include Mike, Dave and Jim. The facilitator announced that we had better come up with something achieved by our next meeting or we would be excommunicated from Buddhism.
We invite the sangha to contemplate the seriousness of this dictatorial threat. Just kidding.
Once Gina and Juanita posed the problem as one that needed the input and the enthusiasm of the CTC in general, and eventually at-large sangha members, the discussion became intensely animated. Gina agreed to try to convene five-member committee to work on the project after our wide-ranging discussion that included some of the following ideas:
Develop a vision of the world we want to facilitate. Possibly the societal changes that we want to see that would eliminate arbitrary isolations of people from each other's lives, segregations of communities and individuals because of social prejudices of the past, between races, ethnicities, classes and differently gendered groups or individuals. And why we, as a Plum Village Buddhist group, should engage in realizing that transformation, i.e. the centrality of Bodhisattva aspirations: "Aware of the suffering" and dedication to "relief of suffering" of ourselves and all beings. That might take the form of a progression from "Our Aim" or Our Wish, the position now, and how to walk in the direction of the aspiration. And that the mission, or the direction, should be a LIVING document, brought regularly to the sangha for consideration, an evolving document, a responsive document.
Suggestions of ways to begin suggested, at least in part, being responsive to the "Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings" communicated to us by Valerie Brown and Marisela Gomez of the Plum Village ARISE Sangha.
*ARISE = Awakening through Race, Intersectionality and Social Equity.
The project committee will share ideas and enthusiasm and negotiate times and ways to communicate.
Their report is scheduled for the March 21 CTC meeting agenda.
Agenda Item Two: Membership in Care-Taking Council.
Our by-laws specify that the Council shall be composed of six to nine members, drawn from the Order of Interbeing, Aspirants to OI, and at-large sangha members. We previous invited applications from the sangha for up to two more people. The qualifications are regular attendance at sangha over the last year and having taken the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Two people applied, Tina Ray and Mike McGann. We opened the subject for discussion and voted to accept both applications as long as they still had the interest and ability.
Results will be announced at Sangha Monday night, February 22.
There are also two applications of possible but postponed qualification and interest from the past which will be kept on record in case the applicants resume active re-application. This gives us 3 OI, 3 Aspirants and 3 at-large members. We will consider rotation as availability changes. And fills our 9-cube Zoom window.
Agenda Item Three: Spring Retreat with Brother Michael Ciborski.
Mark Watson confirmed that Brother Michael would be the Dharma Teacher at the Spring Retreat to be held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 14, 15, and 16th which is the third weekend, and the weekend after Mother's Day. The retreat will be a distance event via Zoom.
Gina volunteered to help Randy Reinhart, Honey-Locust Treasurer, with registration for the retreat, and
Patrice and Juanita will work with Mark Watson to make plans. Brother Michael did not specify a theme so the committee will generate some suggestions.
There is also a limitation we could run up against: Brother Michael is widely well-known and could conceivably "draw a crowd," depending on the way we go about publicizing. "A crowd" could bring in solid income for Dana, but there are two caveats.
A. The Zoom account for the Sangha has an attendee limit of 100. Although an additional Zoom fee might enlarge that limit it is also true that using "Break-out Rooms"—that is, smaller groups that can share more intimately, for Dharma sharing, generation of ideas, etc.—requires dedicated time and attention by a 'HOST.' That host would be significantly limited in their ability to experience the retreat with everyone else.
B. We shared a perception that, especially in the absence of person-to-person meetings and retreats, the sangha (and we automatically include the Lincoln Sangha) needs and would benefit from keeping the number of people lower—perhaps 40-60. If we publicize widely, the first wave of registrants might exclude numbers of our sangha. The sense of the meeting was that we need to make sure everyone from "our" sangha/s gets to register, perhaps before opening registration more widely but with a limit.
We concluded that money for Dana was not a primary objecct. And a corollary of the two considerations is that we need to make every effort to get early registration from Honey Locust Sangha and Lincoln Sangha.
This meeting adjourned around 2:30.
Notes submitted by Juanita